Advanced Discipleship Training

Advanced Discipleship Training

I recently finished the Advanced Discipleship Training course at my church... if you are familiar with Grace Ministries International, it's the same course they use. I must say, it was quite intense. I learned quite a lot about myself, the fleshly living patterns I tend to fall into, my failure to depend upon Jesus as my source of life, etc... but most of all, I came away with a much greater appreciation of what my Lord accomplished for us through His death, burial, and resurrection. It truly is all about Jesus, and not about us.

Below is the final paper I wrote for the class...
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I recall a fascinating analogy regarding the issue of law and grace from Bob George’s book Classic Christianity. He tells the story of a restaurant owner who discovers a homeless man sifting through his trash bin in search of something to eat. The owner invites the man inside and shows him the massive buffet of food that is served. He tells the homeless man to eat whatever he wants, as much as he wants – it is on the house! The man marveled at the sumptuous spread that was before him – steak, chicken, ribs, potatoes, fruits, vegetables… and of course, the dessert bar! “So, I can truly eat anything? Anything I want?” said the homeless man. The restaurant owner assured him that yes, he could have whatever he wanted. The man then asked this question – “Sir… can I please eat some garbage??”

George’s point is well taken. While it may seem ridiculous to think that someone would actually desire to eat moldy pizza crusts and rotten vegetables out of a dumpster, may I suggest that something very similar happens in many Christian circles today. Not the consumption of actual, physical garbage… but rather spiritual garbage. We’ll explore that idea in a little while… but first, allow me to share a brief bit of testimony so you know where I’m coming from. I was raised in a very traditional Southern Baptist church, pipe organ and all. I walked the aisle and was baptized at the age of 14, but never really had any desire to grow in my walk with the Lord until late in my college career… but when I got serious, I got serious! I started reading my Bible a lot more, praying a lot more, and was in church just about every time the doors were open. Oh, and of course… being Baptist, I was a faithful tither and would never think of ‘robbing God’ by not giving the Lord His portion! I did the activities I was expected to do, and even attended seminary for a short time. However, the joy I had experienced upon first coming to Christ had long since faded, and it just seemed like all that I was doing “for” God was really just a performance.

If I have taken away anything from this discipleship class (and I feel that I’ve truly taken away a lot), it is the understanding that much of my previous Christian experience, with the exception of my time here at GLF, was dominated by the consumption of spiritual garbage, leaving me extremely malnourished and disillusioned. This begs the question… why in the world would any of us consume this type of garbage, and then, having tasted it, would continually come back for more? I believe there are several answers. First of all, when you are truly hungry, it goes without saying that you will eat just about anything. So, in that sense, garbage does provide some satisfaction in that, while it might not taste very good and you may experience some, uh, difficulties later, it does at least temporarily stave off your hunger. Plus, every now and then, you may just come across a tasty morsel, much like George Costanza eating the éclair off the top of the trash heap in that classic Seinfeld episode. But, as George’s soon-to-be ex-girlfriend informed him, whether it’s buried in the can or just sitting on top… it’s STILL garbage!

There are, I believe, some other reasons why we consume garbage. Perhaps that is simply all we know… or we just think that’s all there is. Perhaps we simply can’t imagine that there could be anything better… or maybe we believe we don’t deserve anything better. That is where I found myself at one point… after wearing myself out on the religious treadmill, part of me had come to the conclusion that perhaps I had done something that preventing me from growing. Perhaps I had made a wrong choice way back when and was out of God’s will… or perhaps there was some sin that I hadn’t confessed… or maybe I hadn’t shared my faith with enough people… you see where I am going. And now, I am able to clearly see the error of my old ways… I had placed myself under a system of law, and had allowed others to keep me in it. Not law for salvation, mind you… I knew better than that… but definitely for sanctification. I had received enough of God’s grace to change my destination, but not enough of it to change the way I lived in the here and now – nor did I have any idea that anything other than my own fleshly resources was even available. I was convinced that it was up to me to maintain a right standing with God, so I gritted my teeth and offered up my own puny works as fig leaves to God. After all, it looked so good and felt so right – that’s what everyone else around me was doing!

So what exactly did I, and so many other do still, experience while wallowing in the garbage heap of self-righteousness? Let’s take a look at what the Scriptures say. First of all, those who continue in this system will experience certain death. Again, not physical death, but certain spiritual death. Romans 7 states clearly that, although there is nothing wrong with the Law (it is holy, righteous and good), there is clearly something wrong in me – that is, in my flesh. Further, 1 Corinthians 15:56 states that the power of sin is in the law. So when I try to live out of the law system, the holy, righteous, and good Law will actually stimulate the power of sin in my flesh and my “life verse” will accordingly be Romans 7:24 – “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?”

Secondly, those who live in this system will probably not receive what they are looking for from anyone else around them. I think it is true that we as humans tend to seek out fellowship with those who are like-minded. So, if you are one of those who are seeking to grow in Christ through legalism and rule-keeping, you will most likely be attracted to those who hold similar beliefs. And it should go without saying that what you will continually experience is death and condemnation. You will probably hear constantly from the pulpit that you are indeed a sinner and you had better keep yourself right with the Lord (if you are a preacher, you can get a lot of successful altar calls that way!). You will be constantly told that you just need to try harder in your efforts to defeat sin… to ‘rededicate’ your life to God! After all… He died for you, the least you could do is to live for Him! This will lead to what one writer calls the ‘consecration-condemnation-rededication’ cycle… and a vicious cycle it is! You are never able to find the victory you so desire… the abundant life that Jesus promised. But perhaps, the particular garbage you eat is a bit more subtle and disguised. Perhaps it is merely disguised at ‘principles’ to live by. This is probably the most common type of garbage that is out there… one week it’s “The 10 Principles of Godly Finances”, the next week you get “The Seven Steps to a Godly Marriage”. Mind you, they may be good, Biblical principles… but let’s just imagine that you get just 5 principles or steps a week. In a year’s time, that is more than 250 steps! No wonder so many are discouraged and disillusioned in their pursuit of religion. This was certainly my experience.

I could go on and on with many more examples, but time and space do not permit me to do so here. For now, I would rather spend some time discussing the nature of true spiritual food… the kind that Jesus truly offers us. And it’s very simple! Instead of a constant experience of death, He offers us Life – His own Life! In John 6, Jesus gave us the great analogy of Himself as the bread of life. Whoever eats of Him… that is, whoever places their faith in Him for their salvation, will in fact never die! What a great promise… eternal life in Heaven with the Lord Jesus! However, that is not the whole story… later in John 6, Jesus states that whoever eats His flesh and drinks His blood abides in Him, and He in them. That is… whoever continues to eat of Him… in fact, to feast on Him… will have life in the here and now. That is an amazing concept… indeed a revolutionary one! Not digging around for leftover scraps, but a veritable eternal feast… of life, righteousness, freedom, and joy! His life is freely offered and can be freely received… if we would only lay hold of it by faith. No more striving, no more rule-keeping, no more offering of fig leaves, no more rededication and failure… just the simple reception of a free gift. He has indeed promised to be all that He is to all that we need… what a powerful concept, once we understand that! That it is not about us and what we can do for God, but it is all about what He did, and what He will do in our lives if we would just allow Him to.

So, as we lay hold of this incredible feast that the Lord Jesus offers, what then will it produce in our lives? First of all, it will be a life characterized by freedom and grace. Not freedom as in licentiousness (for that is not really freedom at all, but slavery to the flesh), but freedom to be all that He has called us to be… not shackled by the chains of religion. John 14:15 says that if we love Him, we will keep His commandments… and indeed that will be our natural desire… because as Ezekiel 36 says, He has given us a new heart and has given us His Spirit… and He will cause us to walk in His statutes! Not us gritting our teeth and trying to do it in the power of the flesh, but rather He will do it as we lay hold of Him!

Secondly, we have a new identity… not that of a sinner as the church frequently tells us, but that of a ‘saint’… a holy one… a righteous child of God! Over 50 times the New Testament refers to believers in this way… if we would only lay aside our pride and false humility and receive what Scripture says of us. It is true, as Proverbs says, that as a man thinks within his heart, so is he. If we constantly call ourselves dirty, rotten sinners and allow ourselves to think that way… then that is exactly what will be produced in our life. But, if we would just receive our new identity of ‘saint’, and get that truth ingrained in our minds… just think of what that will produce!
Finally… Jesus offers us a life of true rest. Hebrews 4:9-11 puts it so well (read that passage here). No more fruitless labor, no more wood, hay and stubble… as we labor to rest in Him, the works that will be produced will indeed be lasting ones, because they are built on the solid foundation of the finished work of Jesus Christ. And as Matthew 11 says, His yoke is easy, and His burden is light… and if we come to Him, we will find rest for our souls. That is his eternal promise to us, His children.

I am eternally grateful that I have been able to be a part of this great fellowship, and particularly this group, as we have learned together of the real life that Jesus offers to us. My prayer is that all of us here would continue to ‘labor to rest’ in Him, and find Him to be all that He is, to all that we need. And finally, I hope that you, my fellow disciples, will all join me in saying that… ‘it’s time to take out the trash!’